


And So It Begins

by ReidFan



Series: And So..... [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 16:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16391465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReidFan/pseuds/ReidFan
Summary: first in a seriesDr. S. Reid meets Dr. S. Reid.





	1. Chapter 1

And So It Begins

A CM fanfic Part 1 of a series

(Reid, Garcia, JJ, Prentiss. Reid/OFC )

K+

 

Thanks, as always, to Aut for the third eye, second word and first look!

 

 

Six Months Ago, late March 2018:

 

         He didn’t mean to stare and hoped she hadn’t noticed but SSA Dr. Spencer Reid couldn’t help himself. The auburn haired woman was fighting with her oversized purse, several shopping bags and a briefcase as she stepped carefully past several other commuters to sit down in the only unoccupied seat on the afternoon train. For just an instant, he considered getting up from his seat to help her with her packages but in the time it took him to make that observation, she’d managed to wrangle her possessions and was now seated across the aisle from him. The shopping bags sat on the floor by her feet, the briefcase lay across her lap and she was rummaging through the purse looking for something. He watched as she searched, and suppressed a smile as they each brushed an impatient hand through unruly hair simultaneously.

 

        His keen eye took in all the details; no wedding ring on her left hand indicating she was probably single. Her shopping bags included one from _Mastermind Toys_ so somewhere in her life a child played a significant role. The briefcase and the smart suit she wore told him she was involved in a career type position.

 

         She was beautiful, he decided, observing her as she withdrew several envelopes from her purse. As she flipped through the letters, one fell to the floor. He waited for a moment, intending to bend over and pick it up. In his moment of hesitation, the auburn beauty realised she’d dropped it and retrieved it herself. Their eyes met briefly and Reid smiled slightly. She reminded him of the women in his life he considered to be family. Tall, like his friend and boss, Unit Chief Emily Prentiss. Bright-eyed like his best friend, SSA Jennifer Jareau. Ambitious like SSA Dr. Tara Lewis and caring like tech analyst Penelope Garcia. He watched as she carefully put the retrieved letter back in her purse and then decided he’d probably stared long enough and returned his attention to the copy of _Fahrenheit 451_ in his right hand.

 

         “ _What the --?”_ she asked silently as she opened the largest of the envelopes in her hand. The manila envelope contained what appeared to be a student’s term paper, but a quick perusal of the title page and first few lines told her that this paper was clearly not from one of her own English Lit students. The terminology—including words like perpetrator and motive and modus operandi—screamed law enforcement to her. The student’s name was unfamiliar and he had unfortunately not included an email address or other contact information, save for the course number.  She put it carefully back into the envelope and returned it to her purse. _I’ll have to call the university when I get home and see about rerouting this to the correct department,_ she decided. If it was a term paper and due today, she wanted to make sure it came into the right hands promptly. Sighing, she looked up and saw that the attractive young man she’d noticed earlier was now engrossed in reading _her_ favourite Ray Bradbury novel.

 

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         She’d never been to the FBI Academy building before and the thought filled her with curiosity and a touch of nervousness. As she walked up the steps to the front entrance, several cadets in full uniform marched past her and it occurred to her how difficult it must be to become a law enforcement agent. Smiling at the recollection of her phone conversation with the Criminology Faculty office administrator, Mandy Elford, yesterday afternoon, she opened the door and made her way to the Criminology Department on the first floor.

 

         The nameplate on the desk read Amanda Elford and she was certain she was at the right location and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

         “Mandy?” she verified nonetheless.

 

         “Samantha?”  Amanda Elford rose from her seat and Samantha noticed the woman appeared to be about six months pregnant. She extended her hand to the office Admin and smiled.

 

         “That’s me.” After shaking hands, Samantha offered the manila envelope to Mandy. “And this” she waved it as she handed it over, “is apparently Devin Sanford’s term paper.”

 

         “Mr. Sanford will be happy to find out he’s not facing automatic failure. Although personally,” Mandy took it from her and pausing for emphasis, lowered her voice to a whisper, “I think there should be some deduction for not ensuring the paper had the proper contact information on it in the first place. He’s lucky Dr. Reid is so accommodating.”

 

         Samantha chuckled and shook her head, “I’m not _that_ accommodating.”

 

         Mandy looked at the outside of the envelope and broke into a laugh. “Oh my God, this is hilarious.”

 

         Samantha’s brow furrowed.

 

         “It’s addressed to Dr. Reid,” Mandy pointed out. “Dr. S. Reid.”

 

         Samantha made a face. “I know, that’s why I found it so puzzling. I don’t teach Criminology. I’m an English Lit prof. The closest I come to Criminology is the chemistry PhD I hold.”

 

         Mandy laughed and choked and stopped laughing. “Dr. S. Reid. Doctor _Spencer_ Reid,” she specified, “has been guest lecturing for about half a year now.”

 

         Realisation dawned on both of them and they both laughed. “Well in that case, you’re right, Mandy. Mr. Sanford _should_ have addressed this more clearly. It ended up in _my_ mailbox! How was I supposed to know I’m the wrong Dr. Reid?”

 

         “You’re not _wrong_. Just not the _correct_ Dr. Reid for this paper,” Mandy amended. As they giggled over the coincidence, the office door opened and Dr. Samantha Reid’s jaw dropped.

 

         It was the attractive Bradbury-reading young man from the metro the previous day.

 

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Present Day, October 2018:

 

      He hadn’t asked her about it yet, but it _was_ October after all. Walking home from the Farmer’s Market in the square down the street from his apartment, Spencer wondered if he could be making plans for Halloween with Samantha this year. It was his favourite time of year, something she was well aware of and the thought of spending it with her brought a huge smile to his face. He shifted the large pumpkin he was carrying from one arm to the other. _I’ll ask her tomorrow,_ he thought as he took his keys from his pocket and let himself into his apartment building.

 

     Samantha shuffled the papers she was holding, moving the folders to the back of the pile and keeping one letter in particular on top. It was addressed to Dr. S. Reid, Marbury University and had a return address that was unfamiliar to her. She laughed, wondering if it was yet another paper meant for Spencer and made a mental note to ask him to remind his students once again to be more careful in the future. This time though, she wasn’t going to open it. This time, she figured, it was going to wait until she saw him tomorrow. Lunch, she smiled; they’d arranged to meet for lunch at the faculty cafeteria the next day. She waited as the person in front of her paid for his coffee and then approached the _Starbucks_ barista with her own order. After the long day she’d had, a treat was in order and she’d stopped in at the nearby coffee shop on her way home from work.

 

     In the line behind Samantha stood a colourfully dressed woman wearing clunky high-heeled shoes. She noticed Samantha shuffling papers as she reached the front of the line. Adjusting her glasses, she checked her cellphone and then hefted her oversized purse from one shoulder to the other as she waited her turn.

 

     Samantha’s _Vanilla Latté Grande_ was ready and she retrieved it and then made her way past the other waiting customers. She paused at the condiments station to grab a few napkins. Setting her purse down on the counter, she placed the folders into it with the letter she believed to be for Spencer still on top. After procuring the napkins, she picked up her latté and headed out the door.

 

     The colourfully dressed woman glanced over at Samantha and gasped when she saw the letter sticking out of the purse. Quickly stifling her gasp, she abandoned her place in the line and followed Samantha out the door and down the street.

 

     “Damn shoes,” she muttered. She bent down to remove them, irked by the impediment to her progress. As she fought with the buckle on the second shoe, she looked up several times, anxious to not lose sight of the auburn haired woman. Finally free of the shoes, she picked them up and hurried down the street after her quarry.

 

     Samantha crossed the street at the light and walked the block south to her apartment. The colourfully dressed woman watched from a discreet distance as Samantha swiped her access card and entered the building. After the door closed, the barefoot woman approached the lobby and checked the resident directory. Again she gasped in surprise.

 

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     “Dammit!” Reid complained aloud as he scrambled around his apartment looking for his messenger bag. He ran back into his bedroom and then recalled he’d been looking for a Poe book the last time he remembered having the bag. Hurrying back to the library area of his apartment, he spied the bag laying on the floor next to his chess table and realised it must have fallen from the chair at some point.

 

     Grabbing the book from the desktop, he shoved it quickly into his messenger bag and ran to the door. “I’m going to miss the damn train!” he swore as he wrenched open his apartment door. Realising he was without a suit jacket, he swore again as he detoured quickly to his bedroom to retrieve the jacket.

 

     Now later than ever, he practically ran down the stairs, out the door and across the street to the metro station, narrowly missing being hit by a car in his haste.

 

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      “A skinny vanilla latté and a double espresso please,” Samantha ordered. As she waited for their drinks, Samantha reflected on the past few days. Once again, one of Spencer’s students had mislabeled his term paper and it had made its way to her mailbox. Fortunately for criminology student Ron Taverstock, Samantha just delivered the wayward paper to Spencer the following afternoon and the two of them had had a good laugh. He followed her advice and told his class that any further term papers needed to be addressed to Dr. _Spencer_ Reid because “in the real world, it is imperative that reports, as well as evidence and anything else, be clearly labeled. In the future, there will be automatic deductions for any assignments that come to me via redirect from the _other_ Doctor Reid.” She laughed as she thought about it and was still laughing when her order was called.

 

     As she walked through the _Starbucks_ holding their coffees, she passed by the same colourfully dressed woman she’d seen several days earlier. This time, the lady was wearing a floral print dress with décolletage and a clunky red-stoned necklace along with bright red pumps. Careful not to make eye contact with her, Samantha walked by her and exited the store.

 

     Again the woman abandoned her own place in the coffee line and followed Samantha out the door. Thinking she was discreet and unnoticed, the woman trailed her to the subway concourse. She watched as Samantha swiped her _SmarTrip_ card and entered through the turnstile, making her way towards the _Blue Line_ stop.

 

     “What? Where is she go—“ she muttered under her breath. She pursed her lips and her brow furrowed as she watched Samantha disappear down the escalator to the train level. Heaving a sigh, FBI tech analyst Penelope Garcia abandoned the chase and returned to the _Starbucks._  Hurriedly, she ordered and paid for the six drinks and then made her way to her car and headed to work.

 

     A short time later, a still-agitated Garcia stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor of the FBI building that housed the Behavioural Analysis Unit and hurried to her office. Already waiting for her there was Special Agent Jennifer Jareau and Garcia quickly closed and locked her door behind her.

 

     She set down the tray of coffee cups; sorted through them until she found the one she was looking for and picked it up, handing it to JJ.

 

     “Thanks, PG,” JJ told her and narrowing her eyes, asked, “What’s up? I can see you’re,” she paused to sweep a hand in the direction of the now-locked door, “you’re _on_ about something Pen.”

 

      Garcia took a moment to calm herself and met JJ’s eyes. “I think. I think. I don’t know what to think. JJ. The other day,” she paused to slow her breathing down, and gestured with her hands. “Okay. The whole thing. The other day I stopped at Starbucks as I often do to get a coffee. Actually, a soy latté. Whatever. Not important. What’s important is what and who I saw.”

 

     She paused. JJ looked at her expectantly.

 

     “Okay. There was a woman. A nicely dressed, professional looking, dark red haired woman. Taller than you or me but not quite as tall as Em. She was getting a latté. And she had letters in her hand, which she stopped to put in her purse. And one of the letters was addressed to,” Garcia paused for effect, “Dr. S. Reid at Marbury University.”

 

     JJ’s eyebrows rose.

 

     “She has Reid’s mail, JJ!”

 

     A smile curved at JJ’s lips. “You were pretty observant, Pen. Got a pretty clear description of this woman.”

 

      “There’s more! I followed her. Followed her to an apartment building not far from the Starbucks. She swiped in and I waited, and then checked out the tenant directory. There’s an apartment there belonging to an S. Reid.”

 

      JJ’s eyes grew large. “Okay, but Spence still lives at that Hoover Street building he’s been in for years, Pen. I took the boys over there to visit him just a couple days ago. Henry wanted to see Uncle Spence for his birthday.”

 

     “Okaaaaay. But this morning I saw her again. And this time when I followed her, she went to the metro station and got into the line for the _Blue Line_ south.”

 

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      The train screeched to its next stop and was beginning to fill. Samantha worried she wouldn’t be able to save the seat beside her without a confrontation with another commuter for much longer. Her briefcase and purse sat on the seat by the window next to her and she let out a sigh of relief when nobody approached her about it at this stop.

 

      A few minutes later, the train stopped again at the next station and she smiled when her eyes lit on the sight of Spencer entering the car. He found her quickly and as she moved her bags out of the way, he slipped into the seat beside her.

 

      “Hey. Hello to you,” he smiled, airbrushing a kiss against her cheek and accepting the _Starbucks_ cup from her. “Thank you!”

 

      “Hi yourself,” she respected his uneasiness about public displays of affection and patting his hand lightly. “You’re welcome. I know how much you need your caffeine in the morning.”

 

      He laughed lightly and sipped at the drink, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Mmmhhhmmmm,” he murmured appreciatively. They drank their coffees and talked amicably about several things as they rode towards Quantico together. After another four or five stops, most of the other commuters had departed leaving only Spencer, Samantha and a handful of others on the train.

 

      “Spence, there is something I wanted to tell you about,” Samantha’s tone grew serious. “I mean, I hope it’s nothing, I hope I’m just seeing things that aren’t there.”

 

      “That’s not likely, Sam,” he soothed, “You’re not the melodramatic type.”

 

      “I hope you’re right. It’s just. Well, the other night, at the Starbucks, I got the impression that someone was following me when I left the store to go home. I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

 

      “You were followed?” Spencer tried not to be alarmed but instantly, he was on high alert.

 

      “I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not. It just felt. Weird. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought except that the same person was there in the Starbucks again this morning when I was getting these,” she gestured to their drinks. “But lots of people have that kind of routine, right?”

 

       He nodded, but was obviously deep in thought, analysing what she’d told him. Alarm bells went off in Spencer’s mind. Memories of a previous stalker of a previous girlfriend left him shaken and he moved closer and drew Samantha into his arms.

 

      “Spence?” she asked, growing alarmed now at his apparent level of concern.

 

      He held her tightly, PDAs be damned. “It just, it’s,” he bit his lower lip, “I hope it’s not related to _my_ work. This has happened before, Sam. And I’m gonna get you a Security Detail right away.”

 

     She recalled a conversation they’d had months ago and as she remembered, whispered “Maeve.”

 

      He nodded, squeezed her close again and said, “I’m not letting that happen again. Not to you. Not to anyone. Never again.”

 

      She nodded and snuggled against him. Comforted that he didn’t think she was being a drama queen, Sam also assured him she felt safe with him and certain that the Security Detail would keep her safe.

 

     “We can move you into Protective if it becomes necessary,” he told her. Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, he clicked it on.

 

     “I’m just gonna call Emily and have her get you the Security Detail.” As he waited for the call to go through, he turned to Samantha and asked, “Can you describe your stalker at all?”

 

     “Well, the first day, she was wearing this really colourful dress. It had a lot of pink and teal in it, on a white background. And she was wearing these really clunky high-heeled platform shoes. Lemme see, she was about five seven, I’d say. She had bleached blond hair and big red-rimmed glasses. When I saw her this morning, she had a floral print dress on with red pumps and a chunky red-stoned neckl—“

 

      Samantha paused as she caught the look on Spencer’s face. She watched as he clicked off his phone and put it away and was puzzled by the action. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she noted his raised eyebrows and look of illumination.

 

     “What is it, Spence?”

 

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	2. Chapter 2

Unit Chief Emily Prentiss paced around the conference room as agents David Rossi, Luke Alvez, Tara Lewis and Matt Simmons sat at the round table.

 

“Where are Spence and JJ?” she wondered aloud, pacing for another moment before fishing her cellphone out of her pocket and texting the missing agents. Addressing the assembled agents, Prentiss told them, “I’m going to Garcia’s office. Be right back.”

 

Getting no response from Reid or JJ, Prentiss made her way to the tech analyst’s office. The door was locked, and Prentiss took out her access card. Swiping it through the lock accomplished nothing. The door was still locked, which told Prentiss it was secured from the _inside._ As Prentiss pondered what to do next, the telltale ping of a received text message sounded from her back pocket.

 

She pulled the device from the pocket and glanced at it. The text was from Reid:

 

_On my way in. Sorry to be late. Need to talk._

_Ok. Talk when you get here. No worries,_ she replied immediately.

 

The office door opened and JJ pulled Prentiss into Garcia’s lair.

 

“What’s this all about guys?” Prentiss asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

 

“It’s Spence,” JJ told her. Garcia nodded, a most serious expression on her face.

 

“Oh no, what happened?” Prentiss pressed, sitting down on the desk top next to Garcia’s computer.

 

“Tell her, Pen,” JJ directed.

 

“Okay, Emily. So I saw a woman at the coffee shop the other day. She had Spencer’s mail in her hand.” Garcia saw that Prentiss was about to interrupt her with a question and forestalled her, “It was addressed to Dr. S. Reid at Marbury University. Anyway, I followed her. She went to an apartment building, and there was a unit in there rented to an S. Reid.”

 

Prentiss waited, expecting more information.

 

“Emily,” JJ contributed, “He couldn’t possibly afford _this_ place and his apartment over on Hoover. He still lives there, I was there just last week.”

 

“Okay, let’s say he’s got a second place. Why? We know his mother’s back in the nursing home.”

 

“A girlfriend?” Garcia bubbled. “OH! A wife!”

 

“You saw her, Pen. Would she be Reid’s type?”

 

Garcia nodded emphatically. “Oh yeah. Smart, judging by the briefcase and the clothes. And gorgeous, almost as pretty as he is.”

 

They all laughed at that. “Well, I’d love to stay and gossip about our genius, but we have a case, ladies,” Prentiss rose from the desk, hoping they’d take the hint. They followed her to the conference room and found Reid had arrived in the meantime and was now seated with the others.

 

Garcia handed out files and then clicked on the smart board to present the case. “All right my fine furry friends. Some of you are furrier than others,” she pointed out the beards on Rossi, Reid and Alvez, “Anyway. Over the last four weeks in Allentown, Pennsylvania, they have discovered three men. Or rather, _parts_ of three dead men. Arms, legs, torsos. In various pla—“ she paused as her glance moved from Rossi to Alvez to Reid. Once her eyes lit on Reid, she lost her train of thought and paused. “Um, right. Three victims. All murdered and dismembered. Dumped unceremoniously in various dump sites, one in a bin behind a mall. Another in a ditch by the side of a road and the third in a park.”

 

She stopped speaking and clicked through the provided pictures, stopping at images of ID used to identify the victims. The agents waited expectantly for her to continue but Garcia was staring at Reid. Prentiss noticed, and also noted that Reid seemed to be staring back at their analyst.

 

Rising from her seat, Prentiss took the remote from Garcia, who fled the room, hurrying to her office. Eyebrows rose but nobody said anything as Emily read out the victims’ names, gave out their last knowns and the team started to toss around ideas as to why these three men were killed. As they spoke, Prentiss’ cell phone rang and she stepped out of the room to take the call.

 

“It speaks of a lot of anger,” Rossi opined. “I mean, look at the amount of rage that must have been involved.”

 

“None of these three men knew the others, though,” Lewis gleaned from the information on her tablet.

 

Alvez looked up from his computer, “They didn’t work at the same place. Didn’t go to the same church. Don’t appear--” he trailed off.

 

The door opened and Emily reentered the conference room. ”Well, this is a first, guys. We’ve been called off.”

 

There was a chorus of disbelief and disappointment and Prentiss called for their attention. “Believe it or not, the unsub turned himself into police just an hour ago, and confessed. He gave details only the murderer would’ve known. Local LE is going to corroborate his story, they don’t believe they’ll need profilers.”

 

As the others looked to each other, Prentiss continued, “And now the bad news.” With a little smile, she added, “We won’t be going to Pennsylvania today. But I’m sure you’ll all appreciate the time at your desks to catch up on paperwork, reports and other consults.” As they rose to leave, Prentiss took Reid aside.

 

 Lewis closed the door behind her, leaving Reid and Prentiss alone in the conference room.

 

“Okay, Brainiac, I got the text. What’s up?”

 

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Reid knocked on the door to Garcia’s office and waited until she called out for him to come in.

 

“Enter if you dare, welcome to my lair,” she sang out over her shoulder as she typed away on her keyboard.

 

“Penelope?” he ventured.

 

She froze when she realised it was Reid standing behind her.

 

“Can you call JJ in please, Penelope?” he requested.

 

“Um, sure. Yeah, I can do that,” she replied, and punched the numbers into the intercom that would ring at JJ’s desk. “Hi. Yeah, Jayje, can you come here please?”

 

Reid waited in silence for JJ to join them, shutting the door firmly behind her after her arrival. He gestured to the empty chair beside Garcia and indicated JJ should sit down.

 

“Spence?”

 

He drew a deep breath. “I want you to know that I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you. We’ve _had_ that discussion. This wasn’t about deliberately keeping something from you guys, cause obviously I can’t.”

 

They looked at each other and had the grace to look at least a little chastened.

 

He continued, “This was about Samantha and I wanting to have to time to get to know each other without any outside interference. I know you guys mean well, and I know you both have some sort of vested interest in my life. I really like this lady. For the first time in years, I’ve found someone who really likes me, who interests me and is interested _in_ me, who challenges me. We’ve really taken our time getting to know each other.”

 

Spencer bit his bottom lip, as he paused to collect his thoughts. “I’m hoping there’s something there. I’m hoping this is serious and—“ he paused again, steeling himself for the point he needed to make.

 

“You don’t need us making it uncomfortable for you,” JJ realised.

 

“Penelope, you really scared Samantha this morning.”

 

“I did?” Her eyes grew wide and her lip quivered.

 

“You followed her out of the coffee shop this morning. And it wasn’t the first time.”

 

“She saw that? Oh my god, she saw that.”

 

“I don’t have to remind you about,” he stopped midsentence, a catch in his voice. They all knew he was referring to Maeve.

 

Garcia started to cry. “Oh my god, I’m a stalker! I did _not_ mean that at all. That was not my intention. At all. Oh my god. Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She dropped her head into her hands and cried earnestly. JJ felt the need to enfold her arms around Garcia to comfort her. It took several minutes, but Penelope managed to regain self-control and soon the sobbing stopped. “I’m so sorry if I scared her, Spencer. That was truly _not_ my intention.”

 

“Penelope,” Reid interceded, “I’m not mad at you, okay? I just really, really want you—I need you— _both_ to stay out of this. Please. Please let Samantha and me cultivate this relationship.”

 

The two women looked up at him and nodded. “Of course we will, Spence. Right, Pen?” JJ promised.

 

She nodded and reached out to touch Reid’s arm, “I promise. No more following.”

 

He gave them a smile of appreciation.

 

“Can I ask you something, Spencer?” Garcia requested.

 

His eyes met hers. “You can ask,” he told her and with a slight smirk added, “But I won’t necessarily answer.”

 

“How’d you meet this Samantha?”

 

He broke into a wide smile and moved a few of Garcia’s knickknacks aside so he could sit down on the desk between their chairs.

 

“Back in March, she inadvertently received mail intended for me from one of my students at the university.” He paused when he heard Garcia’s gasp and looked at her questioningly.

 

“That’s why I followed her the first time, the other day, Spencer. I could clearly see a letter addressed to Dr. S. Reid, Marbury University, sticking out of the top of her bag.”

 

He laughed and she was happy to see that reaction.

 

“I swear I already told my classes to please use my _full name_ on their submissions. Clearly, I am going to have to emphasis that most unequivocally. And perhaps insist they include email return addresses from now on.” He shook his head and continued, “Anyway, she came by the Criminology Department to return the mail. And the funny thing is, I’d seen her on the train the day before and well,” he blushed a little as he paused and Garcia and JJ both giggled. “I think I might’ve been staring at her. Though she never said anything about that.”

 

“But she recognised _me_ from the train, too. And our Crim Department secretary Mandy told her to come by the office when she called to ask about the criminology students. Mandy thought I should meet someone.” He rolled his eyes and a laugh escaped his lips. “Anyway, Sam came by, returned the mail and there was—“ he paused, blushed again and told them, “There was a spark between us. I asked her to join me for lunch that day, ostensibly to thank her for bringing the term paper by. Sam thought the student should buy the lunch and we just hit it off. We’ve been seeing each other since then.”

 

“Since _March?”_ JJ almost shouted.

 

Reid nodded, pleased that he’d been able to keep it from these well-intentioned meddlers as long as he had.

 

“Since March, Penelope. He’s kept this from us since March.”

 

Penelope looked at her, then at Spencer and then at JJ again. “I’m beginning to see why, Jayje.”

 

She made a face and nodded, “Yeah. You’re right.” She made a production of heaving a great sigh.

 

“Even though he promised no more secrets,” Garcia incited.

 

His mouth opened to say something and he abruptly changed his mind and closed it again. “Now you know. And I’m asking again, please let us develop this relationship. Please?”

 

Both JJ and Penelope stood, enveloping Spencer in a hug.

 

“Absolutely, Spence. I think we’re both really happy for you. Right Pen?”

 

Garcia nodded.

 

“Thank you. Now, I gotta get back to work.”

 

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“Hey Pen, Luke. Seen Spence or Emily this morning?” JJ asked upon arriving at the BAU’s sixth floor bullpen the following day.

 

Garcia was standing next to Alvez’ desk and the two of them paused their conversation about his dog to answer JJ’s question.

 

“Rossi’s taking the lead today. Emily and Spencer are in court today, testifying in the Tavares case from last year.”

 

“Ah, okay,” JJ replied, “Is Rossi here yet?”

 

Alvez shook his head and the two women made their way to Garcia’s office. Shutting the door firmly behind them, JJ turned to Garcia.

 

“Find anything?”

 

“No. I didn’t. I didn’t find a single Samantha on the Marbury University faculty list. There are four female professors with the first initial S and none of them are Samantha. I called up the staff directory and didn’t find her photo among them either.”

 

JJ grimaced. “Are we absolutely sure she’s actually a professor there?”

 

“She had his mail. I don’t see how anyone but another professor would have a faculty mailbox next to Spencer’s.”

 

“Maybe she’s a T-A?”

 

“Oh, Jayje, please. You think I didn’t think of that?”

 

         “Sorry.” She thought for a moment and then said, “Well, we gotta keep on it. We’ve gotta find her.”

 

         A knock sounded on the tech analyst’s office door. It was Alvez, and he called through the closed door, “Hey, Garcia? JJ? You have a visitor.”

 

         The two women looked at each other in surprise and Garcia rose to unlock the door. Opening it, she came face to face with Reid’s girlfriend Samantha.

 

         “Oh!” she gasped and stepped back as though struck.

 

         “Pen?” JJ called from behind her, hurrying forward when she heard the shock in Garcia’s voice.

 

         “Penelope?” she repeated after reaching Garcia’s side.

 

         “Um, I, um, I’m Penelope Garcia, and this is JJ-Jennifer Jareau, we uh, work with Spencer.”

 

         It was JJ’s turn to catch her breath as she anticipated just who was standing before them.

 

         The auburn haired woman, wearing a smart pearl suit and deep pink shirt extended a hand as she spoke, “I’m Dr. Samantha Reid.”

 

         “Oh my god,” JJ and Garcia said in unison as the pieces fell into place for them. Quickly, JJ took Garcia’s arm and indicated they should all proceed together.

 

         “Um, let’s go down the hall here,” JJ directed them towards an unoccupied office furnished with a pair of sofas. Shutting the door behind them, JJ turned and addressed Samantha, “I thought it would be more private here, and more comfortable than the tech office.”

 

         Samantha stood in the centre of the room. JJ looked from her to Garcia and finally said, “Please sit down, Dr. Reid.” Samantha seated herself as directed and smiled at JJ who let out a tiny snicker, “It feels so weird to say that and _not_ be referring to Spence.”

 

         “Doctor. Samantha _Reid?”_ Penelope squeaked in surprise.

 

         Samantha laughed, “It’s my _birth_ name.”

 

         “Well, hopefully, it’ll be your married name too,” Penelope purred.

 

         “Pen!” JJ admonished, and then softened her voice, “Besides, not every woman takes her husband’s name when she marries.” JJ’s pointed glare reminded Penelope that she maintained the name Jareau after marrying William LaMontagne.

 

         Penelope was undeterred. “Well, it’s a moot point here, isn’t it?”

 

         Garcia and JJ were surprised to hear Samantha laughing. “Spence was right! You guys!” She shook her head.

 

         Growing serious, Garcia stood in front of Samantha. “I just wanna say, I’m really, _really_ sorry to have scared you into thinking I was a stalker the other day. I am so, so sorry. It was totally not my intention to frighten you, Dr. Reid.”

 

         “I’m afraid I might have overreacted, Miss Garcia.”

 

         “Penelope. Call me Penelope, please. Or Pen. And I don’t think you overreacted at all, I think I underestimated how it would have looked to you. And to Spencer.”

 

         “It’s okay. I understand. And I’m Samantha. Or Sam. Please.”

 

         “You do?”

 

         “Spencer told me that you two are his best friends in the world. And that you tend to be a little,” she paused to find a word and settled on one, “ _protective_ of him. You look out for him.” Cracking a smile, she added, “Whether he likes it or not.”

 

         Garcia nodded, “We do. At least, _I_ do. Not just Spencer. All of them. But especially him. I’m not sure how much he’s told you,” she paused and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “although I bet it’s quite a lot. It’s just, well, Samantha, the BAU members are like, my babies. I help them from my office here, but they go out into these humungously dangerous situations and sometimes things go kinda bad. And I hope and I pray and I will my babies to come back here to me safe. I’m protective of all of them, but especially Spencer.”

 

Samantha smiled, “I know, Penelope. He loves all of you like family. And I can see that you guys love him, too.”

 

She rose from the sofa and continued, “I came by because I thought he was supposed to be here today. He mentioned a few days ago that the class had an assignment due today and I realised that he was here, so I thought I’d save him a trip and bring his mail here.”

 

“He’s in court today. With Emily, our boss,” JJ told her.

 

“Why didn’t you just take it home to him tonight?” Penelope asked innocently.

 

Samantha laughed, “Because we don’t live together, Penelope.”

 

JJ was laughing as she muttered under her breath, “Yet.”

 

Both Penelope and Samantha heard her. Penelope choked and gasped, Samantha laughed.

 

“I heard that. I’m not rushing Spencer into anything though. I think we both need the time to get to know each other.” She paused and laughed, “So I say. And having said that, I also wondered, you mentioned the boss is out today?”

 

JJ nodded, “Court,” she repeated.

 

“Right. Damn. I was hoping to ask her to give Spencer Monday off.”

 

“This Monday?” JJ asked.

 

Samantha nodded. “It’s his birthday on Sunday, and I made plans and I’m hoping, since it’s like a two or three hour drive, that maybe she’d let me keep him until Monday.”

 

JJ was already texting Prentiss as Samantha was speaking.

 

“Oh wow, can I ask what you’re planning to do with our Boy Wonder? Oops, I didn’t mean it like that,” Garcia giggled.

 

Samantha laughed. “He’s crazy about fall and Halloween.”

 

“Wow, you know him well,” Garcia interrupted.

 

JJ clicked her phone off and gave Samantha a broad smile, “It’s a go. Spence is off Monday.”

 

“How’d you do that?” Samantha wondered in amazement.

 

“I texted Emily. Told her something important and personal just came up in Spencer’s life and he was going to need Monday off but he doesn’t know it yet.”

 

Garcia couldn’t contain her laughter.

 

“And?”

 

“Emily texted me back.” JJ clicked her phone back on and read the text from their Unit Chief aloud, “The GF? NP. My lips sealed. We’re en route back from court in an hour or so.”

 

“Perfect.”

 

JJ’s phone sounded again. She consulted it and made a face. “Rossi’s looking for us, we have a case.”

 

They left the office and headed towards the conference room. Walking through the bullpen, JJ stopped at Reid’s desk.

 

“Pen and I are due at the roundtable, but you can wait here for Spence, Sam.”

 

The BAU team members carried on to the conference room, and Samantha sat down at Reid’s desk and took out her cellphone to finalise plans and reservations for her birthday surprise for Spencer.

 

 

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End Part One


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